How to check if your Windows antivirus will block Microsoft’s Meltdown-Spectre fix

Earlier today we showed you everything you need to do to patch your mobile devices and other computers against the Meltdown-Spectre chip vulnerability that would allow malware apps to steal sensitive data like passwords without your knowledge.

We talked about the most important operating systems out there, including Android, iOS, Linux, macOS, and Windows, as all the companies that use Intel, ARM, and AMD chips are in a hurry to patch their devices.

We highlighted an important issue concerning Windows devices, but unfortunately, it looks like Microsoft’s fixes will not play nice with some antivirus software, and you may experience some unwanted consequences.

Naturally, you need to make sure that antivirus programs will not block the Windows updates that are supposed to fix the Meltdown and Spectre flaws. Microsoft has a support document up on its page, but that might not be enough to help you as it doesn’t list the antivirus programs that don’t play nice with the patch. Security researcher Kevin Beaumont created a public spreadsheet that lets you track the progress of antivirus makers, ZDNet reports.

Obviously, antivirus makers will add support for Microsoft’s Windows patch that rolled out on January 3rd. However, some of them may not have their updates ready in time for Microsoft’s release. In case you don’t see the latest Windows updates on your device, it simply means that your antivirus program might not be compatible with it yet.

So far, antivirus products from Avast, Avira, EMSI, ESET, F-Secure, Kaspersky, Malwarebytes, and Symantec have products that are fully compatible with the patch. Others, including CrowdStrike, Endgame, McAfee, SentinalOne, and Trend Micro are compatible, but require users to set registry keys manually to prevent problems.

Some products from Trend Micro, Symantec and others may encounter some issues, some may require manual interactions, while others already work, ZDNet explains. Keep an eye on the spreadsheet above if your Windows computers can’t receive the update. An alternative is changing your antivirus if the issue persists longer than January 9th, which was the original date for Microsoft’s patch release.